McEnroe is 49 and still fired up

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- John McEnroe chuckles at the irony."They used to fine me for getting mad," he said in an exclusive telephone interview with The Sacramento Bee from Malibu, Calif., where he has a second home. "Now I get paid for it. If I don't, people are like, 'What's wrong? He didn't get mad.' " On Saturday night, McEnroe will make his first appearance in the Sacramento area since he unleashed a vintage tirade five years ago at Allstate Stadium at Sunrise Mall.McEnroe will rejoin the New York Sportimes in a World TeamTennis semifinal at Allstate Stadium at the Galleria at Roseville. McEnroe also will play if New York reaches Sunday's final. "I enjoy coming out (to California) between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open," said the native New Yorker, who also lives in Manhattan. "It's not too bad to fly (to Sacramento), which made the decision easier. I'll be gone from my family only a day or so."Hopefully, we (the Sportimes) will pull it off." Meanwhile, Martina Navratilova will be available for Friday night's semifinal and Sunday's final, WTT spokeswoman Rosie Crews said.McEnroe, 49, and Navratilova, 51, have played part time for their respective teams this season. McEnroe was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999, and Navratilova was enshrined the following year.McEnroe, who also competes on the senior tour and is a renowned tennis commentator on television, will play men's doubles and either singles or mixed doubles Saturday night, Sportimes coach Dustin Taylor said.Five years ago, McEnroe received three unsportsmanlike-conduct calls for profanity after disputing a line call and was disqualified. Capitals coach Wayne Bryan, in the interest of the announced record crowd of 4,029, convinced umpire Sandi French to reverse her decision. McEnroe went on to win in singles, but the Capitals won the match."It was a case of the umpire needing to realize her job was to call the score and that this is about entertainment, not defaulting me," recalled McEnroe, who won the 1978 NCAA singles title as a freshman at Stanford before turning pro. "It's a moot point, because the challenge system takes arguing out of it. People might be disappointed not to see the old McEnroe. (Sacramento) is not the only place I've ever had a problem." WTT began using instant replay in some regular-season matches and in the playoffs in 2005.McEnroe, who won seven Grand Slam singles and 10 Grand Slam men's doubles titles, has struggled in team tennis this season. He's 7-9 in men's singles games, 5-15 in men's doubles and 5-2 in mixed doubles.McEnroe was typically blunt in assessing his play."I've been crap, to be honest," he said. "It's not something I feel good about." McEnroe attributed his slump to a recent layoff, not age, while commentating at the French Open and Wimbledon."I lost some conditioning," he said. "It was great to be there, but it was not great for my game. I've had a letdown physically and mentally." McEnroe is in his eighth year of WTT, all with the Sportimes. He said he doesn't know how much longer he'll play team tennis."I have a lot of respect for (WTT co-founder) Billie Jean (King). I believe in her energy and commitment. If not for her, I probably wouldn't be playing, to be honest."Having four girls of my own, I believe in what she's done for tennis and team tennis," McEnroe said.McEnroe will turn 50 in February."I'm trying not to think about that," he said. "I'm in pretty good shape for a guy my age. I take pride in that. There are moments when I show people I can still play."That's nice. It feels like a young 50, the new 40." Added McEnroe: "I'm not going up there to lose."E-mail Paul Bauman at pbauman(at)sacbee.com (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)